Affordable Ford V8's

I'm not sure what the market is where you are, but in the states you can find '41-48 coupes that have been sitting a few years and will need a good going over to get back on the road in the $10k range. Two door sedans in that shape are $5-6K. Sounds like you'd be just the guy to put one back on the road.
 
Automotive Stud said:
I'm not sure what the market is where you are, but in the states you can find '41-48 coupes that have been sitting a few years and will need a good going over to get back on the road in the $10k range. Two door sedans in that shape are $5-6K. Sounds like you'd be just the guy to put one back on the road.
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Nothing more fun than waking up an old car that's been sitting for a few years.
As long as it's not rusted out since I'm not into major rust repairs.
 
Automotive Stud said:
I'm not sure what the market is where you are, but in the states you can find '41-48 coupes that have been sitting a few years and will need a good going over to get back on the road in the $10k range. Two door sedans in that shape are $5-6K. Sounds like you'd be just the guy to put one back on the road.
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Bingo ! I would look for a 46-48 " long door " coupe . They are good looking cars , & solid examples can be found in the 10k range , as stated above .
 
Look for something that has been in a climate free of road salt and get photos of the floor pans, rocker panels, etc. Fordor sedans will be the most economical for you and especially great if you have kids.
 
Ford Freak said:
Bingo ! I would look for a 46-48 " long door " coupe . They are good looking cars , & solid examples can be found in the 10k range , as stated above .
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46-48 coupes are on my list of potential cars.
And I just happen to have an engine and trans from a ´47 laying around, good to have if needed for spare parts.

TJ said:
Look for something that has been in a climate free of road salt and get photos of the floor pans, rocker panels, etc. Fordor sedans will be the most economical for you and especially great if you have kids.
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Fordors are definetly less expensive and I have nothing against them, but since my Model A phaeton is a 4-door car I would prefer a 2-door this time.

No kids at the moment but I'm 28 years old and don't know what the future will bring.
 
Well, I ended up buying a 1953 Customline 2-door.
With Fordomatic trans and original power steering.

Can't wait 'til it arrives here in Sweden from sunny California.
 

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Looks very original, radio, clock and magic air heater along with automatic and power steering. The original buyer must have ordered it. Be interesting to see what assembly plant it came from.
 
Mikko_ said:
According to the seller it came from the San Jose assembly plant.
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mikko, the seller is mistaken. He may have assumed San Jose if he had been told "local assembly". At the time your '53 Ford was assembled, Richmond would have been the assembly plant serving the area.
The San Jose (Milpitas) Ford plant opened in 1955, using equipment from the then closed Richmond plant, 50 miles north of San Jose.
 
The biggest issue is: What can you do to improve the car?? Can you do body work? Mechanical work? Early body parts are hard to find and are expensive, so buying a car with a bad motor. might be cheaper in the long run. But a car with a running engine, might need allot of body work. You really DON;T get what you pay for.
 
If I am not mistaken, I can see the filler cap for the power steering pump in the engine photo. That is a rare and valuable option. I always like to see an engine with it's factory air cleaner and other original components intact.

All in all the car looks very solid. I can only see one door handle, so that's good news, and it even looks like it might be a coupe, although it's tough to tell from the angle of the photo. A few more details and photos would be appreciated.
 
Ol' Ron said:
The biggest issue is: What can you do to improve the car?? Can you do body work? Mechanical work? Early body parts are hard to find and are expensive, so buying a car with a bad motor. might be cheaper in the long run. But a car with a running engine, might need allot of body work. You really DON;T get what you pay for.
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The Customline in the pictures is what I bought.
Engine is running, body and frame are solid.

Brakes, cooling system and fuel system is what needs work to make it a driver and that is no problem for me to handle.
 
ford38v8 said:
mikko, the seller is mistaken. He may have assumed San Jose if he had been told "local assembly". At the time your '53 Ford was assembled, Richmond would have been the assembly plant serving the area.
The San Jose (Milpitas) Ford plant opened in 1955, using equipment from the then closed Richmond plant, 50 miles north of San Jose.
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Then it was probably assembled in Richmond.

Anyway to find out for sure where it was assembled?
 
tubman said:
If I am not mistaken, I can see the filler cap for the power steering pump in the engine photo. That is a rare and valuable option. I always like to see an engine with it's factory air cleaner and other original components intact.

All in all the car looks very solid. I can only see one door handle, so that's good news, and it even looks like it might be a coupe, although it's tough to tell from the angle of the photo. A few more details and photos would be appreciated.
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Yes, it has factory power steering and it's a 2 door sedan, not a coupe.
 
Mikko_ said:
Then it was probably assembled in Richmond.

Anyway to find out for sure where it was assembled?
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Your patent data plate should have that info. I believe that an R after the model code would be the Richmond plant. I'm not a late model guy, so consider the source. :D
 
Mikko_ said:
I'm currently in the process of putting together a 1928 Model A Phaeton powered by a 4 banger but I'm feeling the itch for a flathead V8 powered car too.

I've been reading up on different models but all I've come up with so far is that I definetly want a closed car, don't need 2 open top cars in the Swedish climate.

Budget is tight so the initial purchase cost would need to be around $10 000 so that pretty much rules out all coupe models I guess.

I'm no stranger to working on old cars but I want something that atleast is close to a running car.

What would your choice be with these criterias and why?
Happy to hear your opinions and suggestions.
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There's a very nice looking '48 Fordor that just got listed on the Early Ford Club site. By the looks of it , perhaps one of the nicer one that's been offered in a while. While it is a six cylinder, it does have a Columbia overdrive. These post war sixes are GOOD engines.
These 48's are very nice driving cars - better than the prewar models in my opinion.
The guy is asking $15k which may seem fair but methinks if you're patient, the realistic price will be closer to $12k.
For that, how could you go wrong?
 
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